iPad MultiTasking Tips to Increase Productivity.
With the release of new iPads and a significant start with iOS 11, Apple has greatly improved devices as productivity tools. If you’ve used the Mac OS Dock and Launchpad to launch apps, try the iPad Dock in iOS 11 and 12.
Would you believe this is an image of an iPad and not a Mac with Launchpad open?
Some fans say that with iOS 11 – and iOS 12 certainly outperforms other performance improvements – Apple’s iPad looks like a brand new device. Enjoy this article and share your opinion with us.
Using iOS Dock
We know how to drag iOS apps to the menu bar at the bottom of the screen, but usually holding the app for a few seconds until icons start bouncing.
It is now much easier on iPad to drag and drop items to the dock, just like on Mac OS. This makes the iOS Dock the easiest way to launch your most used apps. This iOS dock also makes it much easier to use split view multitasking.
Add applications to your document by simply dragging and dropping them down. So in these three photos, I move the App Store app to the dock. Press and hold the app for about a second, then start dragging. You no longer need to wait for the shaking effect to start.
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Now in this image of the iPad dock, notice that recently used apps are on the right, while other dock apps are displayed on the left for easy access.
To access the iOS Dock while in another app, simply tap and swipe up a short distance from the bottom of the screen. If you swipe up from the bottom and move to the center of the screen, you will return to the home screen. This is how swiping works on the iPhone X and XS.
Multitasking on iPad
iOS supports the traditional double-click on the menu button to view open applications. In iOS 11 for iPad, you’ll also see Control Center here. In iOS 12, the control bar only appears when you swipe down from the top-right corner, like on iPhone X.
Note that swiping up from the bottom of the screen to reveal the dock also displays the same view.
For more information on how to get the most out of the Control Center in iOS, see our latest articles on setting up Control Center and using 3D Touch in Control Center.
For split view multitasking:
To multitask with Split View:
First, make sure Allow Multiple Apps is enabled in the settings.
Then open the app you want to use, such as Mail, Word, Pages, or Twitter. Swipe up to see the dock.
Start dragging the second app from the dock up the screen, and when it starts showing, keep dragging it up.
If you drag it up, but not to the far-right corner of the screen, you’ll see that the second app overlaps the first app, what Apple calls move. In this view, you can drag and drop between the two apps.
Drag the solid bar at the top of the second app to the right, at the top of the screen, to put the iPad and app in split view.
This allows the user to resize two windows to the desired size with one touch. So, to drag a photo from the Photos section into the email you’re working on, first expand the Photos window.
Then select the sketch and drag it into the letter.
Swapping the position of two apps is easy: just drag the top handle of one app. Plus, it’s easy to bring a third app onto a slide in split-screen mode when more information is needed. Although at this stage things can get out of hand.
When you have the third app, if you click on any of the other apps, the third app will be hidden on the right. To view it again, simply swipe from the right edge of the screen to the left. Here I have news and Safari in split mode, with the app store at the top.
Consider the most commonly used productivity applications. Here are some more useful split screen examples:
- With your inbox open
- Add photos to your email
- Check your calendar when you send an email
- MS Word (or Pages) on iPad
- Open Photos to add graphics to your document.
- Open Safari or Chrome browser on your iPad to drag URLs and images into your document, and easily copy and paste text.
- Open the News app to drag and drop stories into your document — it works better in Pages than in Word.
- Multitasking also lets you run YouTube videos or photos alongside your other applications.
- Also, but only if you’re using a password manager, it’s much easier to enter credentials into applications. The example below uses 1Password.
- Place 1Password for iPad in the iPad dock.
- Open the application that requires your credentials.
- Drag 1Password to Slide Over and use 3D Touch to open it.
- Find the application credentials and drag the username and password into the application fields to make it easier to sign in.
Finally, look at a few helpful gestures that help here. Simply swipe right in split view, or swipe across an app to move it off the screen, then swipe left to bring it back. Another good option: in any split screen mode, pinch four or five fingers together on the screen to access the home screen immediately!
We hope these tips help you be more productive on your iPad with iOS. Enjoy!
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